Free Republic

President Isaac Herzog meets with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. In public remarks before the meeting, Blinken says the US is “doing everything possible” to return the hostages held by Hamas and stresses the Biden administration is “thinking, as we always do, about Israel’s security both today, but also for every day, for the long term.” “We’re thinking of the suffering of people caught up in the middle of conflict, including the Palestinian men, women and children in Gaza,” he says. “We’re thinking as well of the genuine opportunities that lie...

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for Hamas' elimination in an op-ed for The Atlantic published on Tuesday and said that President Biden was right not to pursue a full cease-fire. Clinton detailed her experience with the conflict in the Middle East as Secretary of State under the Obama administration and noted that Hamas violated a cease-fire agreement she brokered in the region in 2014. "So the Biden administration is correct not to seek a full cease-fire at this moment, which would give Hamas a chance to re-arm and perpetuate the cycle of violence. Hamas would claim that it...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A proposed bill to ban express lanes in Florida died Thursday in the House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee. Despite causing an increase in crashes and confusion, express lanes, according to the Florida Department of Transportation, help move people faster, and that if they were eliminated the state would lose $1.5 billion over 10 years. All of that money is used to improve and fix roads. Sen. Frank Artiles, R-Miami, filed SB 250 in January. It that would have allowed the express lanes to remain in operation only until tolls are collected to pay off the bonds that...

MADISON, Wis. — Newly elected state Treasurer Matt Adamczyk ran on a campaign pledge of cutting 80 percent from a $545,000 annual budget. A few weeks into his first and supposed only term, he has, through lay-offs, already gotten rid of his two-member staff. Adamczyk also declined to fill an empty deputy treasurer position that was paying close to $107,000 a year in salary and benefits. “I’m a big believer that in government it’s not our job just to give people jobs,” Adamczyk told Wisconsin Reporter. The state has transferred most of the treasurer’s duties to other government agencies over...

But of course it is only a start. Another prime candidate is the Department of Education. Like so much Washington bureaucracy, this behemoth is essentially one of Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society” (i.e., statist) institutions, a shil for the teacher’s union and enforcement agency for politically correct ideology It officially presides over a budget of nearly $67 billion and another $96.8 billion in “discretionary funding provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.” (Did the person who wrote that smile as he set it down in black and white? “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act,” forsooth! “Anti-American Rapine and Redistribution...

AMERICAN and British troops poised to assault the Taliban stronghold of Marjah have begun targeting insurgent leaders for assassination. Military sources said special forces had been infiltrating the town on “kinetic” missions — jargon for armed attacks. “Special forces guys have been going in on assassination missions with the aim of decapitating the Taliban force,” one said. At the British base of Camp Bastion and the adjoining Camp Leatherneck, the US marine base, troops and munitions have been airlifted in by night to avoid enemy rockets. It is clear that international forces are on the brink of a big battle....

CAMP VICTORY — On the heels of Operations Marne Thunderbolt and Grand Slam south of Baghdad, Multi-National Division – Center will push further south to squeeze extremists during Operation Marne Rugged, which kicks off March 15. The operation will cover a rural area southeast of Baghdad, south of the Tigris River in the area of operation of 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division and 3rd Brigade, 8th Iraqi Army. One phase of the operation will be the establishment of Patrol Base Summers, a joint Iraqi Army and Coalition forces base. It is named for Staff Sgt. Vincent Summers, who...

In Gaza, the news that unarmed Jewish kids had been gunned down while at study set off paroxysms of joy. Thousands of jubilant Palestinians whooped it up in Gaza's streets, firing guns in the air to celebrate and distributing candy to passersby. The same cannot be said of Fatah, the other main faction in the Palestinian Authority. Fatah is headed by PA President Mahmoud Abbas, whose polished spokesman, Saeb Erekat, was quick to assure journalists — in English, for Western consumption — that Abbas "reiterated his condemnation of all attacks that target civilians, whether they are Palestinians or Israelis." Yet...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Already bleeding red, the nation's second-largest bank is now passing out pink slips. Bank of America says it will eliminate 3,000 jobs, most of them from its investment banking unit.

Told to commit suicide, survivors now face elimination from history New mood in Tokyo to sanitise one of war's darkest episodes Justin McCurry in Tokyo Friday July 6, 2007 The Guardian (UK) Choho Zukeran was a schoolboy, mobilised to dig beachfront trenches, when US soldiers landed on his native Okinawa, sparking one of the bloodiest battles of the second world war. Over the next few weeks, some 200,000 Japanese and Americans would die, including more than a quarter of Okinawa's civilian population. Some died in the invasion, others killed themselves - on the orders of the army that was supposed...

2/17/2006 - WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- The Air Force Uniform Board announced Feb. 6 that the Good Conduct Medal will no longer be awarded. The Air Force director of Airman development and sustainment recently explained the reasons behind this decision. "The quality of our enlisted personnel today is so high, we expect good conduct from our Airmen," said Brig. Gen Robert R. Allardice. "It begged the question, ‘Why do we have a Good Conduct Medal?’" "Having a medal for good conduct is almost to say we don't expect Airmen to do well, but if they're good we will give them a...

Our local Catholic High School recently announced its intention to eliminate class ranks, and also to stop weighting student GPA's to reflect honors and college credit courses. I've done a lot of research on the Net over the past few days, enough to find out that this is a growing trend across the country. Arguments in favor of dropping class ranks and weights mainly have to do with "making children feel we value all educational choices". Arguments against have to do with the issue of incentive and reward for taking on challenges.

Gujarat riot Muslims 'eliminated'   The state government of Narendra Modi denies the allegations A police officer in India's Gujarat state says the government there authorised the killing of Muslims three years ago.RB Sreekumar made the allegation in notes he kept at the time while serving as Gujarat's intelligence chief. The Gujarat government says the charges are baseless and untrue, instigated because Mr Sreekumar was not promoted. Officially more than 1,000 people, most of them Muslims, died in religious riots in Gujarat in 2002. Human rights groups say many more were killed. Mr Sreekumar was appointed intelligence chief in...

A Glimpse Ahead Timothy Snodgrass The Impossible Will Come Alive In 2005 01/28/05 In January of 2004, as we began to intercede for the New Year the Holy Spirit gave us the prophetic slogan, "The Seas will Roar in 2004". This year we were given a new slogan, "The Impossible will come Alive in 2005". As the veil of darkness begins to come down over nations and regions, along with great shakings will come great breakthroughs; signs, wonders, healings and a spectacular release of miracles in impossible circumstances. This year, although we are ultimately poised to gain much ground, there...

Profile: Speaker of the House Mon Aug 30, 9:40 AM ET By Rudolph Bush Tribune staff reporter Overlooking the vast lawn of an estate tucked against the blue-gray beauty of the Wasatch mountains, Dennis Hastert stood up in a rumpled suit, adjusted his oversized glasses and began to speak. There is a philosophical gap in this country, and the crossroads are just ahead, the speaker of the House told the small crowd of big-dollar donors sitting before him earlier this month. "We need to control the ball," said the one-time high school wrestling coach. "If the other guy controls the...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - Hamas threatened "100 unique reprisals" against Israel for killing its leader, Abdel Aziz Rantisi, as hundreds of thousands of mourners flooded the streets Sunday in a show of strength and fury. It wasn't clear if the Islamic militant group was strong enough to carry out large-scale attacks after a sustained two-year Israeli campaign against it. Despite promises of revenge, Hamas still has not struck in the three weeks since Israel assassinated Rantisi's predecessor, Hamas founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin. Hamas chose a replacement for Rantisi on Sunday, but did not disclose his name - a...

CLOVIS, Calif.— Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested at a question-and-answer forum with supporters Monday that he might eliminate the state's environmental protection agency, but a spokesman later said he meant only to reduce duplication in functions among the local, state and federal governments. During an "Ask Arnold" event at a company that manufactures security cameras in this Fresno suburb, Schwarzenegger was asked by a man identifying himself as a farmer why the state needed Cal/EPA when the federal Environmental Protection Agency regulates many of the same things. "What you just talked about is the waste — overlapping agencies. They cost a fortune,"...

Moscow, 24 April: Russia has eliminated 400 metric tonnes of chemical weapons, the outgoing chief of the Russian Ammunition Agency, Zinoviy Pak, said on Thursday [24 April]. He noted that the elimination was carried out ahead of the plan in keeping with which the completion of the first phase of the elimination process had been scheduled for 29 April. The use of advanced domestic technologies trebled the productivity of the installations for the destruction of yperite (mustard gas) located in the Gornyy settlement, Saratov region. Moreover, the environmental safety was increased considerably...

The Simon Wiesenthal Center demanded Sunday the recall of the Palestinian observer to the UN Human Rights Commission for calling for the "elimination" of Israel. Shimon Samuels, the Wiesenthal Center's representative at the 59th Human Rights Commission session currently taking place in Geneva, wrote the UN Human Rights High Commissioner Sergio Vieira de Mello calling on him to "immediately condemn the Palestinian observer and take the necessary measures for his recall, due to his violation of the UN Charter in calling for the 'elimination' of the state of Israel. In addition to calling for Israel's elimination, Samuels said, Nabil Ramlawi...

Exposing CEDAWThe United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women By Laurel MacLeod and Catherina HurlburtRevised: September 5, 2000 Concerned Women for America strongly opposes the passage of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). This treaty is not necessary and would challenge the laws and culture of the United States.Encroachment Upon Sovereignty <!A HREF="#encroach">Sovereignty Encroachment<!/A>The CEDAW CommitteeTreaty Provisions     The “Family”     Parental Rights     Gender Re-Education     Comparable Worth     Abortion     Back-door ERA?     Homosexual Rights...